George Schlatter Productions
The week of April 14 through the decades yielded very little in memorable programming outside of a couple of reality TV series. Do you remember any of the shows that debuted this week?
1959
- No new series premiered this week in 1959.
1969
- No new series premiered this week in 1969.
1979
- April 18 — Reality/newsmagazine Real People debuts on NBC, originally airing live in the Eastern and Central time zones of the country. The series featured a panel of hosts — John Barbour, Sarah Purcell, Byron Allen, Skip Stephenson, Bill Rafferty, Mark Russell, Peter Billingsley, and Fred Willard — and a studio audience. The hosts would introduce pre-taped segments that focused on a ‘real person’ (i.e. not a celebrity) with an unusual or unique hobby or occupation. The show was a huge hit for NBC, a network that spent more time in the ratings basement during this era. Its success spawned two very short-lived spin-offs, Speak Up, America hosted by Marjoe Gortner, and Real Kids hosted by future A Christmas Story star Peter Billingsley and a panel of other child hosts. The format mirrored the original show’s but focused only on children. After the show was cancelled, Billingsley joined the mothership as a recurring host/contributor. The show also spawned imitators on other networks including CBS’ That’s My Line hosted by Bob Barker, and ABC’s That’s Incredible! with John Davidson, Cathy Lee Crosby and Fran Tarkenton. Real People also gave fitness instructor Richard Simmons his first national exposure. The series ran for five seasons, ending its run on July 4, 1984.
1989
- April 14 — The Jim Henson Hour debuts on NBC. The series would present various behind-the-scenes looks at creations and innovations at Henson’s production company and various scripted segments. Henson hosted the show with the Thought Lion from The Storyteller series but the show itself had no real structure. The first half-hour was usually occupied by ‘MuppeTelevision’, an updated version of the classic The Muppet Show but now with The Muppets running a TV network headed by Kermit the Frog (sounding similar to ABC’s The Muppets series from a few seasons ago). Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear were rarely seen as Frank Oz was busy with a directorial career (he would have been directing Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the time the series was in production), although Miss Piggy did get one 30-minute special. The second half of the episode would consist of a rerun of The Storyteller or more Muppet antics. Three episodes were hour-long mini-movies: ‘Dog City’ narrated by Rowlf the Dog, ‘Monster Maker’ and ‘Living with Dinosaurs’. NBC only aired nine of the 12 episodes produced before pulling the plug. Two unaired episodes saw the light of day on Nickelodeon in 1992 and 1993, and the final episode aired only in the UK in 1990. The show’s last broadcast in the US was on July 30, 1989.
- April 18 — Docudrama Rescue 911 debuts on CBS. The series featured reenactments, and occasional actual footage, of emergencies that involved 911 calls. William Shatner hosted. Originally intended as a set of three specials, the show was picked up to series after two of the specials aired in April and May of 1989. The weekly series began airing September 5. The show usually occupied the Tuesday at 8:00 PM timeslot, but additional episodes aired occasionally at different times. While not intended to be a teaching tool, many viewers wrote to the network recounting their own experiences in emergencies and how they dealt with them from what they learned from the series. Two episodes, ‘100 Lives Saved’ and ‘200 Lives Saved’, were dedicated to those viewers. At least 350 lives had been saved because of the show, which coincided with the adoption of 911 as the national emergency number in the US and Canada. At the height of its popularity, the series was adapted in 45 countries with their own 911 variation. The show ran for seven seasons, producing 186 episodes in addition to the two specials. In October 2018, CBS announced development of a reboot with Shatner slated to return as host, but nothing has come of it thus far.
1999
- No new series premiered this week in 1999.
2009
- April 15 — Docu-reality series PitchMen premieres on Discovery Channel. The show satrred infomercial producers and pitchmen Billy Mays and Anthony Sullivan as they attempt to choose and market various inventions to the public. New products were pitched to Mays and Sullivan each episode with two being chosen for field testing and test marketing. If the test marketing was successful, the two would produce an infomercial and the inventors would be notified of the success. Less successful results could lead to a discussion with the inventors to tweak the product and commercial for a later airing. Unfortunately, Mays died suddenly two months after the show premiered from untreated hypertension that the coroner stated was exacerbated by cocaine use. The future of the series was in doubt follwing his death on June 28. Discovery aired an all-day marathon of episodes on July 1. The network did ultimately renew the series on July 15 with Mays’ son expected to take over with Sullivan. When the second season aired, Sullivan was the lone host, but without Billy Mays, the series ended after the second season, its last airing on March 8, 2011.
- April 16 — Pro wrestling series WWE Superstars (or just Superstars) debuted on WGN America. The show featured mid-to-law card WWE ‘superstars’ in a format similar to the earlier Heat and Velocity series. ‘Enhancement talent’ bouts were often featured as well, and big names John Cena, Randy Orton, The Undertaker and Triple H appeared on early episodes. WGN opted not to renew the series in 2011 and the show moved to an internet broadcast while still airing on traditional broadcast networks in international markets. The WWE announced the series had been cancelled on November 28, 2016, three days after the final episode aired. In all, the series produced 398 episodes.
- April 19 — Reality series Cake Boss debuts on TLC. The show centered around Buddy Valastro and his family-owned bakery Carlo’s Bake Shop in Hoboken, NJ., featuring the construction of their ‘edible art’ cakes as well as the interpersonal relationships of the family members and employees. The series ran for ten seasons and produced 236 episodes.
- April 19 — Animated series Sit Down, Shut Up premieres on Fox as part of the ‘Animation Domination’ block of programming on Sunday nights. Based on an Australian live-action series of the same name, the show focused on a group of high school teachers in a small Florida town ‘who don’t care about teaching.’ Fox aired four episodes and then pulled the show from the Sunday schedule due to low ratings and mixed-to-poor critical reaction. The remaining nine episodes aired Saturdays at midnight later in the year, with the last episode broadcast on November 21, 2009.
Do you remember any of these shows? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
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